The growing demand for high‐strength, durable materials capable of enduring extreme environments presents a significant challenge, particularly in balancing performance with sustainability. Conventional materials such as alloys and ceramics are nonrenewable, expensive, and require energy‐intensive production processes. Here, super‐hard wood‐based composites (WBC) inspired by the meso‐scale homogeneous lignification process intrinsic to tree growth are designed and developed. This hybrid structure is achieved innovatively by leveraging the infusion of low‐molecular‐weight phenol formaldehyde resin into the cell walls of thin wood slices, followed by a unique multi‐layer construction and high‐temperature compression. The resulting composite exhibits remarkable properties, including a Janka hardness of 24 382 N and a Brinell hardness of 40.7 HB, along with exceptional antipiercing performance. The created super‐hard, sustainable materials address the limitations of nonrenewable resources while providing enhanced protection, structural stability, and exceptional resilience. The WBC approach aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by offering extra values for improving personal safety and building integrity across various engineering applications.

In recent years, microbial conversion of inorganic selenium into an efficient and low-toxic form of selenium has attracted much attention. With the improvement of scientific awareness and the continuous progress of nanotechnology, selenium nanoparticles can not only play the unique functions of organic selenium and inorganic selenium but also have higher safety, absorption and biological activity than other selenium forms. Therefore, the focus of attention has gradually shifted beyond the level of selenium enrichment in yeast to the combination of biosynthetic selenium nanoparticles (BioSeNPs). This paper primarily reviews inorganic selenium and its conversion to less toxic organic selenium and BioSeNPs by microbes. The synthesis method and potential mechanism of organic selenium and BioSeNPs are also introduced, which provide a basis for the production of specific forms of selenium. The methods to characterize selenium in different forms are discussed to understand the morphology, size and other characteristics of selenium. In general, to obtain safer and higher selenium content products, it is necessary to develop yeast resources with higher selenium conversion and accumulation.

The utilization of sustainable lignin to synthesize wood adhesives has attracted increasing attention in recent years.

This study developed a biomimetic design integrating multiple features of biological tissues at the micro/molecular-scale to present a new strategy for fabricating transparent, isotropic, strong, tough, and multi-functional hydrogels.

Air pollution is caused by the perilous accumulation of particulate matter (PM) and harmful gas molecules of different sizes. There is an urgent need to develop highly efficient air filtration systems capable of removing particles with a wide size distribution. However, the efficiency of current air filters is compromised by controlling their hierarchical pore size. Inspired by the graded filtration mechanisms in the human respiratory system, microporous ZIF‐67 is in situ synthesized on a 3D interconnected network of bamboo cellulose fibers (BCFs) to fabricate a multiscale porous filter with a comprehensive pore size distribution. The macropores between the BCFs, mesopores formed by the BCF microfibers, and micropores within the ZIF‐67 synergistically facilitate the removal of particulates of different sizes. The filtration capabilities of PM2.5 and PM0.3 could reach 99.3% and 98.6%, respectively, whereas the adsorption of formaldehyde is 88.7% within 30 min. In addition, the filter exhibits excellent antibacterial properties (99.9%), biodegradability (80.1% degradation after 14 days), thermal stability, and skin‐friendly properties (0 irritation). This study may inspire the research of using natural features of renewable resources to design high‐performance air‐filtration materials for various applications.